Category Archives: Clean Money Campaigns

I’ve decided to try one more time to win a seat on the Fremont City Council. Last time many said I didn’t stand a chance going up against two incumbents. While I didn’t win, I came very close, coming in within a percentage point of winning. This near victory showed how far we’ve come building a true grassroots organization of Fremont residents that can win a seat on the City Council.

I’m excited to start a new campaign. I believe that we have a very good chance of winning this time around and getting the first candidate on the Fremont City Council that I know of that has steadfastly refused to take campaign contributions from developers.

I’ve decided to leave up all of the blog posts from my 2010 campaign. I’m proud to stand by any comments that I’ve previously made.

Matt Artz of the Argus recently created a blog post about the first round of financial reports received for the Fremont City Council election. Of course, it was noted that both of the incumbents are taking money from developers. Harrison tried to explain why this is ok:

As many of you know, I’ve been doing a lot of joint campaigning with Kathy McDonald. We decided to combine resources and do a joint TV ad.

Kathy is another independent voice running for Council. Like me, she has refused to take campaign contributions from developers. Like me, her interests in politics stem from a desire to do what’s right for the residents of Fremont. I’ve been very impressed with her ability to learn complex topics such as redevelopment funding. She has also proven to be a very hard campaigner. It’s a pleasure to be campaigning with her.

I’m proud to announce that I’ve received the endorsement of the Sierra Club. As a committed environmentalist, this endorsement means an awful lot to me. The Sierra Club is an organization that has no financial stake in the outcome of this election. Their endorsement is based on the merits, not on any corporate or developer interest.

The subject of campaign finance reform has been for a while. The McCain-Feingold Bill was first introduced in 1995 but took seven years to ultimately pass. Some of its key features were watered down in order to get more support. The Supreme Court decision this January struck down some key elements of the McCain-Feingold Bill.

Many people continue to fight for clean money campaigns. The California Clean Money Campaign has managed to get Proposition 15, the California Fair Elections Act, on the ballot this June. This measure would create a pilot program that would apply only to the California Secretary of State election. Candidates would have to qualify for the pilot project by gathering 7,500 donations of $5.00 each from registered voters.